A cyclone separator is a special device that cleans air by spinning it very fast to remove dust and other small particles. This process is called gas-solid separation. A Cyclone CFD Simulation Using DPM is a computer model that helps engineers see exactly how this works. By using ANSYS Fluent, we can predict the collection efficiency of a cyclone without building expensive real-life models. The Discrete Phase Model (DPM) is a key tool that lets us track thousands of individual particles as they fly through the swirling air. A successful Cyclone CFD Validation, like this one, proves our computer model is correct. This study seeks to validate the results of the research paper, “Numerical simulation and optimization of fluid flow in cyclone vortex finder” [1].

• Reference [1]: Raoufi, Arman, et al. “Numerical simulation and optimization of fluid flow in cyclone vortex finder.” Chemical Engineering and Processing: Process Intensification1 (2008): 128-137.

Figure 1: The cyclone separator geometry used for this Cyclone CFD Validation study, based on the reference paper [1].

Simulation Process: Fluent Setup, RSM and DPM for Particle Tracking

For this Cyclone Fluent validation, we first built the 3D model based on the exact sizes given in the paper [1]. We then used ANSYS Meshing to create a high-quality grid with 121,146 polyhedra cells. To accurately model the fast, swirling air, we used the Reynolds Stress Model (RSM), which is a very good turbulence model for this type of flow. The most important step was setting up the Discrete Phase Model (DPM) to track the dust particles. We set up an injection to release thousands of Polystyrene particles into the air. We also used the Discrete Random Walk (DRW) model to include the effects of turbulence on the particle paths.

Figure 2: A view of the polyhedral mesh used for the Cyclone CFD Simulation Using DPM in ANSYS Fluent.

Post-processing: CFD Validation and Flow Analysis

The velocity contour provides a professional visual of the powerful spinning motion inside the cyclone. The professional visual shows that as air enters, it forms a strong vortex, with speeds reaching a maximum of 10.1 m/s. This fast, swirling motion creates a strong force that throws the heavier dust particles towards the outer wall. This is the first and most important step in separating the dust from the clean air. Our simulation successfully captured this primary vortex, which is responsible for the cyclone’s cleaning action.

The particle tracking results show the final journey of the dust. This professional visual of the particle paths shows how they are thrown against the wall, slide down, and are collected at the bottom. Meanwhile, the clean air, now free of dust, spins up through the middle and exits through the top pipe, called the vortex finder. We released 8,250 particles and our simulation trapped 7,669 of them, giving a collection efficiency of 92.9%. The reference paper reported an efficiency of 91% for the same conditions. This gives a very small error of only 1.9%. The most important achievement of this simulation is the excellent agreement with the experimental data from the reference paper, proving that this CFD model is a highly accurate and reliable tool for predicting the performance of real industrial cyclone separators.

Figure 3: Velocity contour from the Cyclone CFD analysis, showing the high-speed vortex that drives particle separation.